Yet another special mid-week episode release! Sasha will be back for our next episode, but don’t miss this deeply moving conversation between Stella and guest, Maia Poet, who shares her powerful story of self-discovery through the lenses of gender identity, conflict, and societal expectations. Maia recounts the emotional and psychological conflict she faced living as a trans man in a religious society, and how war—especially the harrowing events of October 7th—shifted her entire perspective on her body and identity.
“In those moments when I was running from rockets, I really came to the intimate understanding that actually my body is all I have, that my body is not pathological,
that my body is capable, and that I need for my body to remain fully intact in order to be able to survive whatever chaos life throws at me.”
Maia Poet is a 25 year old Israeli-American writer, researcher and public speaker. She began identifying as transgender at the age of 12. At 20, she moved to the Middle East- hoping to transition far away from her non-affirming parents. For four years, she lived stealth as a man within communities of Palestinian Muslims and Orthodox Jews in Israel. Living through Middle Eastern wars caused Maia to understand the impracticalities of transition. Consequently, she desisted from a trans identity which lasted for half of her life. Maia now reflects on her experience of desistance, hoping to provide insight for gender distressed young people and for their parents. She also hosts the new podcast, The Reappearing Lesbian - a show featuring multi-generational and international conversations between lesbians that focuses on female gender nonconformity and why young lesbians are so vulnerable to gender ideology.
In this conversation, Maia opens up about the transformative power of community, particularly her encounters with detransitioners, and the critical role they played in her journey toward desistance. Maia also delves into the complex moral dilemmas of discussing gender identity with children, and how surviving war solidified her understanding of the strength and resilience of her natural female body.
“It was almost like the category of woman had just inexplicably opened up to include somebody like me in it.”
Listeners will gain unique insight into the profound complexities of gender nonconformity in a society that, under the false pretense of “authenticity,” is failing to accommodate such experiences. The lack of space for nonconformity is paving a destructive path towards body dysmorphia, crisis of self-identity, and harmful medical transition — a broken and twisted journey towards self-love and acceptance.
Resources & Links
@thepeacepoet99 on X
@MaiaPoet on YouTube
Maia’s Speech honoring Detrans Awareness Day - March 2024
Gender Toolkit (from Restore Childhood, crafted for parents, students, and everyone who wants to engage in mutually respectful discussions to benefit all children)
Children’s Books (crafted to help inoculate kids against gender ideology)
Young Lesbians and the Fantasy of Transition—A Story of Desistance, by Maia Poet
183 - Running From Rockets and Walking Toward Womanhood, with Maia Poet